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Tuesday, April 2, 2024

4/2 WAKE-UP CALL: Israel Bombs Iran Embassy In Syria


Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Syria on Monday, a marked escalation in a war pitting Israel against its regional adversaries, and Tehran said the strike killed seven military advisers including three senior commanders. Reuters reporters at the site in the Mezzeh district of Damascus saw emergency workers clambering atop rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic compound, adjacent to the main embassy building. Emergency vehicles were parked outside. An Iranian flag hung from a pole by the debris. The Syrian foreign minister and interior minister were both spotted at the scene. "We strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed a number of innocents," Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said.

Israel has long targeted Iran's military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, and has ramped up those strikes in parallel with its campaign against Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the Gaza war was ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, Israel' military has escalated airstrikes in Syria against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, both of which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Monday's attack was the first time Israel hit the vast embassy compound itself.

➤ISRAEL ENDS SIEGE AT GAZA SHIFA HOSPITAL: The Israeli military announced the completion of its controversial "targeted operation" at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after killing 200 militants and arresting 500 others during a weekslong siege that drew outcries from hospital officials and global leaders.

What happened? Israel said the operation was carried out as a result of "preliminary and accurate" intelligence indicating Hamas militants were using the hospital campus as a command center and military headquarters.

On the other side: Calling the occupation a "crime against humanity," the Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians around Shifa, including a female physician and her son, also a physician, and left the hospital in ruins. 

➤ISIS-K EYES ATTACKING U-S: ISIS-K, the terrorist organization that killed more than 140 Russians March 22 in Moscow, would like to replicate the attack in the United States, but it lacks the capability, current and former senior U.S. officials say. “The U.S. remains target No. 1 for ISIS-K,” said Mark Quantock, a retired two-star Army general who oversaw intelligence operations for U.S. Central Command. “They clearly would like to strike the homeland, but their challenge is penetrating our security, which has proven to be quite resilient in recent years.” Known for its brutality, ISIS-K considers Russia and many Western countries anti-Muslim. Russia has sided with Syrian President Bashar Assad in its civil war, launching airstrikes for years that that have killed Islamic militants and displaced hundreds of thousands of Syrians. The group also regards even hard-line Muslim regimes like the Taliban to be insufficiently devout. It once targeted a maternity clinic in Afghanistan and was responsible for the attack in August 2021 in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans during the chaotic retreat of Americans and Afghans.

➤FLA VOTERS TO DECIDE ABORTION BALLOT MEASURE: The Florida Supreme Court approved an abortion ballot measure, teeing up what could be the year’s most hotly contested fight over access to the procedure. Voters in the Sunshine State will decide in November whether to protect access through fetal viability, or more than halfway through a typical pregnancy. If passed, the measure would effectively restore to Floridians protections that women nationwide had under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2022. Florida’s highest court also ruled that a privacy provision of the state’s constitution doesn’t protect abortion access, a decision that appears to clear the way for a law passed last spring banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Currently abortion is legal in Florida through 15 weeks of pregnancy.

➤JUDGE TOSSES HUNTER REQUEST: A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected Hunter Biden’s request to dismiss tax charges accusing the president’s son of a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. Among the claims that U.S. District Judge Marc Scarsi dismissed in eight separate motions were that federal prosecutors supposedly caved to pressure from Republicans or that the younger Biden had immunity from a previous plea deal that he had negotiated.  Hunter Biden, 54, has pleaded not guilty to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while allegedly spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other big-ticket items.


➤GOOGLE TO DESTROY BROWSING DATA: Google plans to destroy browsing data to help settle a lawsuit that alleged the company tracked people without their knowledge. The class action accused the tech giant of misleading users about how Chrome kept tabs on people using the private “Incognito” browsing option. Google also has agreed to update disclosures about what it collects in private mode and to let users disable third-party cookies in that setting, according to the settlement. Google, which called the individual lawsuits meritless, said that it’s happy to delete “old technical data” and that the information was never associated with an individual or used for any form of personalization. A judge still has to approve the deal.

➤ACTRESS PREPARES FOR DEATH: Shannen Doherty is learning how to let go. The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum — who has stage 4 breast cancer — got candid about cleaning out her storage units and homes to make for an “easier transition” for her mom, Rosa, when she dies. “My priority at the moment is my mom,” the actress said during Monday’s episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast. “I know it’s going to be hard on her if I pass away before her.” She continued, “Because it’s going to be so hard on her, I want other things to be a lot easier. I don’t want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with. I don’t want her to have four storage units filled with furniture. Doherty, 52, explained that she started going through her belongings to donate or sell antiques and other items she’s collected over the years “just in case” anything happened to her.

🕇FORMER NFL PLAYER DIES: Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis has died, the Davie (Florida) Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. He was 35. A cause of death was not immediately known. Police said they were called to Davis' residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida, where the body of a deceased male was found. Police said preliminary evidence suggested there was no foul play. The Broward County Medical Examiner's office is also investigating, per WSVN. News that Davis was deceased first came from the social media account of Illinois men's basketball assistant coach Chester Frazier. Davis, a Washington D.C. native, played collegiately at Illinois before a nine-year career in the NFL.

🏀WOMEN'S MADNESS: The women’s NCAA tournament entered the last day of the Elite Eight with star-studded matchups all night. In the first game, Caitlin Clark and No. 1 Iowa reached the Final Four for a second consecutive season, trampling on Angel Reese and defending champion LSU and avenging their loss in last year’s national championship game. Clark did it all for the Hawkeyes, scoring 41 points, including 9-of-20 from 3-point range, and added 12 assists and seven rebounds.

Iowa will face Paige Bueckers and No. 3 UConn in the national semifinals on Friday as No. 3 Connecticut toppled No. 1 Southern California 80-73 to return to the Final Four. The Huskies' Paige Bueckers had her career-high seventh straight 20-point game, finishing with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Women's March Madness Games Monday 

  • (1) Iowa 94, (3) LSU 87
  • (3) UConn 80, (1) USC 73
⚾ASTROS' BLANCO PITCHES NO-HITTER: The first Houston Astros win of the season comes with the first no-hitter of the 2024 MLB campaign. Ronel Blanco got Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Vladimir Guerrero to ground out to second base to throw his first career no-hitter, a 105-pitch gem that led the way to a 10-0 victory.  Blanco’s only blemishes in the box score were two walks, both of which went to George Springer, who walked for the second time before Guerrero’s groundout sealed the no-hitter. He struck out seven Blue Jays as well. 


⚾MLB SCORES:
  • Yankees best start since1992
    Yankees 5 D-Backs 2
  • Rangers 9 Rays 3
  • Reds 6 Phillies 3
  • Dodgers 8 Giants 3
  • Red Sox 9 Athletics 0
  • Mariners 5 Guardians 4
  • Cardinals 6 Padres 2
  • Astros 10 Blues Jays 0
  • Tigers 5 Mets 0
  • Angeles 7 Marlins 4
  • Orioles 6 Royals 4
  • Pirates 8 Nationals 4
  • Cubs 5 Rockies 0
  • Braves 9 White Sox 0


➤TUESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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